Toxoplasma gondii infection and pre-eclampsia among Sudanese women. (13th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Alshareef, Shimos A; Nasr, Abubakr M; Adam, Ishag
• Is Part Of: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Volume 112:Number 8(2018)
• Page Start: 393
• Page End: 396
• Publication Date: 2018-07-13
• Subjects: infections -- pre-eclampsia -- Sudan -- Toxoplasma; Tropical medicine -- Periodicals; 616.9883
• DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/try067
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-9203

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Pre-eclampsia is the main cause of maternal and perinatal adverse effects. Although the exact mechanism and pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia are not yet fully understood, there are recent studies on the association between various infections and pre-eclampsia. This study investigated the association between maternal Toxoplasma gondii infection and pre-eclampsia. Methods: A case–control study was conducted at Saad Abualila Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. The cases were pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and the controls were healthy pregnant women. Their obstetrics history was collected using a questionnaire. T. gondii antibodies (immunoglobulin G [IgG] and IgM) were analysed in the maternal serum of both the cases and the controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Maternal age and parity were not different between the cases and controls (90 women in each arm). There was a significant difference in the maternal anti- T. gondii IgG seropositivity, which was higher in the cases (pre-eclampsia) compared with the controls (32.3% vs 4.4%; p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the IgM seropositivity for T. gondii between the cases and controls (3.3% vs 1.1%; p=0.621). Binary logistic regression showed that women with toxoplasma IgG seropositivity were at higher risk for pre-eclampsia (odds ratio 9.40 [95% confidence interval 3.01 to 29.32]; p<0.001). Conclusions: In the current study, T. gondii infection seems to be associated with pre-eclampsia. Further research is needed.